Principles of Modern Composition (Continued) Author(s): G. H. Clutsam Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 59, No. 900 (Feb. 1, 1918), pp. 57-59 Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/908620 Accessed: 05-03-2016 13:56 UTC

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This content downloaded from 202.28.191.34 on Sat, 05 Mar 2016 13:56:01 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE MUSICAL TIMES.-FEBRUARY I, I918.

57

Weight.

The hanging of a peal of bells for ringing in full swing Date. Tons. Cwts.

Manchester Town Hall ... I877 5 oj so that each bell describes a complete circle for each

Sydney, N.S.W., Post Office 1891 4 18

blow of its clapper is an art in itself. The present-day

Preston Town Hall ...... 868 4 i6

ringer demands that every bell hung for change-

Worcester ..... 868 4 10

ringing, up to three tons in weight and even heavier Bradford Town Hall ...... 873 4 7

Abberley Hall ...... 1885 3 i88 than this, shall be 'pealable '-i.e., able to be rung by

Chichester Cathedral .. ... I877 3 I3 one man in what is technically known in ' The Exercise'

Exeter Cathedral (tenor) ... I902 3 I2I

as a 'peal,' which means a set of changes, composed

Manchester Town Hall ... 877 3 II

and arranged scientifically according to certain Queenstown Cathedral ... 1916 3 72

Rugby School ...... I914 developed laws of this art, of a not less number than 3 4i

St. Paul's Cathedral . ... 878 3 2 5,ooo, rung continuously. The time occupied by the

Abberley Hall ...... 1885 3 Ii

performance of these peals varies according to the

Halifax Town Hall ...... I862 3 o

number and weight of the bells and the number of

CARILL ,ONS.

the changes rung, three hours being the usual

No. of f Weight.

Bells. Date. Tons. Cwts. period.

22 Bournville (with clavier) 1906 4 7i

To render it possible for ringers to achieve such

Loughborough (with clavier) I906 & 1912 3 IO 40

feats it is essential that the bells be hung in a strong

Queenstown (with clavier)... 42 I916 17 Ii

and massive framework, and that their fittings- Abberley Hall ...... 20 I884 20 15

i6 Worcester Cathedral ... i868 & 1875 17 0 i.e., their wheels, headstock, gudgeons, bearings,

Manchester Town Hall ... 21 I877 35 o clappers, and all the other accessories indispensable

19II 2 0 Appingedam (Holland) . 25

to a ringing bell, be 'well and truly' fitted. And for

Eindhoven (Holland) ... 25 I914 2 0

this purpose the bell-hanger requisitions the aid of all

Flushing (Holland) ... . I914 7 2 33

the recent developments of mechanical science with,

FANIOUS PEALS OF BELLS.

as will be seen, good result, for a peal of I8,027

St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

changes, occupying twelve hours and eighteen minutes,

Exeter Cathedral.

the longest ever accomplished, was rung by a band of

Worcester Cathedral.

ten picked men on the ring of ten bells of Loughborough Newcastle-on-Tyne Cathedral.

Truro Cathedral. Parish Church on Easter Monday, April 12, I909.

Dublin, St. Patrick's Cathedral.

With reference to the illustrations in the separate

Edinburgh, St. Mary's Cathedral.

supplement it may be explained that from time Christ Church Cathedral, N.Z.

Beverley . immemorial bell-founders have identified their work

Beverley, St. Mary's.

by using distinctive marks, by means of which in many

Bristol, St. Mary Redcliffe.

instances it has been possible to fix the dates of ancient

Shrewsbury, St. Chad's Church.

bells prior to the period when the founder's name and

Waltham Abbey.

Manchester Town Hall. date were cast on their bells.

PRINCIPLES OF MODERN COMPOSITION.

BY G. H. CLUTSAM.

(Continued from January number, page 13.)

The inversion of elementary triads in no way affects use of the third in the bass was not so extensive as a

their character as chords. Under the polyphonic casual consideration might conceive, and the appear-

system, the variety obtained from a transposition of ance of the fifth as support was rare save in the

parts was mainly a matter of re-adjustment. The formation of manifest cadences. The following

fundamental position dominated the situation. The extract from a 'Stabat Mater' of Palestrina:

2nd .

Ex. 52. 2nd Choir.

I I o ' X - r 8 t -- - - J

w - - :- I ' 1 r f \ -

is constructed under the elementary conditions we have been examining. In the following re-arrangement

of the harmonies:

Ex. 53. 2nd Choir.

^ - -<2 - -^ -^ - -J - - -^ .^ - ^ -^ - .^ -^ - :^ : -^ ------^ .- J - --- j

_c;I^~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ F- J t I ' T - - i , ! ? , &c.

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about as many thirds are introduced in support as the system, which will be considered in a later

passage will conveniently carry, and it is possible that article, the opposition of the ascending and descending

the inversion of the fifth at the entrance of the 2nd Choir scales in the arbitrary or so-called melodic minor

is not quite in accordance with polyphonic methods, scale accounts for many results in the work of Bach

but it is introduced to illustrate a possibility. The and his contemporaries that certain critical opinion

accidentals C~, BP, and G are not definitely considers as anticipating surreptitiously the harmonic

Palestrina's intention in either example, and can be scheme of the modern composer. They are, however,

retained or discarded according to taste. In the nothing of the sort. They arise from scale and not

harmonic system, the presence of the third in the bass harmonic considerations, but the principles that apply

affects the distribution of the chord much more to the limited number of chords at the disposal of the

significantly than under the older conditions when it old composers still obtain in respect of the greatly

was frequently doubled, generally from the necessity extended number of chord combinations available at

for keeping the various 'voices' moving freely and the present day, and a full appreciation of the

easily. In the next example, the interplay of inversion ingenuous methods of the past actually simplifies the

and suspension, presumed and prepared, can be advan- understanding of the complexities of the present. I

tageously examined: am strongly of the opinion that all material of value

acquired by a study of counterpoint, with its many

Ex. 54.

awkward rules and embarrassing obligations, can be

more easily and advantageously assimilated by a

modern student in the examination of its principles

from the harmonic standpoint. No sane teacher

should impose on his pupil at any stage of his career

a study of the various species of counterpoint.

In two parts it is stupid, in three it is a futile

'grind,' and as to four, especially in the fourth

species, I quite agree with Mr. Frederick Corder,

The second and fourth of the asterisked inversions

who has said-he referred, however, only to the

are the commonest forms with the fifth in the bass, i.e.,

fourth species -' Even when the most skilful

the dominant supporting any progression wherein it is

Mus. Doc. has evaded or triumphed over its obstacles,

common to each chord, major or minor, and suggesting

the result is simply miserable.' As to fugue, I

the Plagal cadence:

venture to assert that nobody wants it now and will

never be likely to want it in the future. On the

simple lines I am pursuing in these articles, any

Bt ir --- --I5?- student whose musical instinct counts for anything at

Ex. 54a. all, will, I trust, be placed in a position to think and

work considerably for himself, although my space will

only allow me at the moment to do little more than

suggest the method of procedure.

The technique of early musical composition was To return to passing-, or, better, auxiliary-notes. I

strongly reinforced, also probably originally by have selected a couple of passages from a Bach

singers when parts that progressed in intervals of Chorale which illustrate their effect fairly compre-

a third or fourth were allowed to fill the void with the hensively, based of course on the material I have

intervening notes of the scale. Passing-notes are a already subjected to consideration. On the outlined

natural outcome of the scale-sense, and their principal harmonies:

characteristic is the endowment of life and movement

to what otherwise might be a dull series of elementary

chords. The first relief in this direction was signalised

by the appreciation of suspensions, which in many

cases reproduced the effect of passing-notes, but the

distinction is easily to be discerned. The earlier

device itself introduced to the composer a number of

combinations that were ultimately destined to rank as

chord-entities, whose origin was feasibly explained by

the methods of the harmonic system. which also reveal a simple example of extended

With the use of passing-notes the tonality of distribution of the voices, the use of auxiliary notes

many passages was more strongly defined; they confers a feeling of life and movement that is a

were inevitably part and parcel of the particular considerable asset to the distinctive value of the

scale that was under treatment. In the minor passage:

E J i#4?s 6.t'

Ex. 56. -^ - , r", i 4 -

Under diatonic conditions, when two voices proceed in the most grateful position of the scale harmony

in similar directions and their essentials are linked up already given:

with passing-notes they move in thirds or sixths. E. 57 t - 1; I c

Three voices, under like circumstances, generally move ' .S- |

with pasg-n. E-5.

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The position known as the 6-4-that is, the lower (only tonic, dominant, and sub-dominant triads, it

part of the preceding example transferred to the will be observed !) to Wagner's:

upper-can also be modestly utilised. The voices

iO G-j- Ix GI X I O! I

can also move in opposed directions with interesting

results. The conclusion of the chorale just examined,

based on the simple material:

Ex. 63.

so _~. ~ -e-

-. J ir o' 1i t

d J IF I -- R

__-

I , i , i 1 , I I

Ex. 58. --- *------_ -_ _ f-p-r-r^ "'"*""^

is a very short one, as there is nothing in the later

passage-a more varied and interesting one than that

4

of Bach-that could not have been easily accomplished

by the older master. Yet one realises, almost incom-

is treated by Bach thuswise:

prehensibly, that Ex. 63 is modern. It is the outcome

of a different type of feeling and temperament, recog-

-, Wo- -_ nisable even in four short bars.

--4 1

t 1 t ' , i

EX. 59. - .^ r __- - - -t

KRUPP AND 'PEACEFUL PENETRATION.

_!if~ V -iI

The Paris journal Le Courrier Musical (for January)

gives much prominence to an appeal a translation of

wherein also the movement of three voices is shown

which we give below:

on the lines I have indicated. The opposition of the

voices (alto and bass) arising from the use of auxiliary AN APPEAL.

notes as shown in the first half of the first bar of

An extraordinary piece of news reaches us from Switzerland,

Ex. 59, was a frequent occurrence at the hands of Bach.

as reported in our 'Letter from Geneva.' German music

Here is another brief example on two positions of

has found an unexpected 'sleeping partner' for its work of

the chord of C:

propaganda during the War, to wit, the Krupp factory !

Music and machine-gun ! Whilst the combined industry

of cannon and harmony strikes one as among the

phenomena of Pan-German invention, there is nevertheless

^--^J-= rr r --NI

W ' J s .___fs _ the manifestation here of a will and a method that might

Ex. 60. serve us as a guide. Our enemies are preparing in all

things-in art, in music, whose national destinies are more

especially dear to us-for the struggle to-morrow, the 4 ;p m1 r ,_

artistic, the vital fight that will come after the peace.

Twenty-four millions of marks were devoted by the

government of the empire to the purposes of musical propa- The facility with which the opposition of scales in

ganda during the first years of the European conflagration.

their bare form, or in thirds or sixths (compare for

Now it is the funds supplied by Krupp that are inundating

example the last Bach excerpt with the alto and bass

Switzerland, where the Weingartners, the Strausses and

parts of.the opposing sixths in the following example):

Nikisches were the commercial travellers of the Prince von

Billow. Holland, Sweden, and Spain are receiving offers of

orchestras, of virtuosi, of artists of every sort from beyond

the Rhine, duly furnished with programmes, materials, and

complimentary tickets. Max Reinhardt is 'spreading

Ex. 6I.

himself' with the same audacity that he displayed here [in

France] to make us welcome 'Sumurun.'

The danger is a flagrant one. While our French School

takes a justifiable pride in master-works ancient and modern,

while our artists are burning with the desire really to do

could be adapted sectionally or in completeness,

something, what are we doing to 'industrialise' our art

enabled a composer to have the freest of hands in his beyond the frontier ? The office of Under-Secretary of State

treatment of primitive harmonies by auxiliary-notes, for Fine Arts has been abolished. What is to become of

and the device of the suspension applied to these the organization for propaganda which he created, the

possibilities further enabled him easily to obtain effects development of which might have been carried on?

Is it clearly perceived what-side by side with its artistic that were as logical as they were vitalizing. A

glorification-the flourishing economic resources of musical study of Bach's chorales, recognising the basis I am

industry are capable of yielding ? advocating, is of great value and interest to the modern

Where is the French capital, where are the big firms, student, and far more advantageous and profitable

where is the noble initiative, whose patriotic dlan will than any endeavour to master the mechanism of the

victoriously counterbalance the influence of the factories of

composer's more elaborate output could ever be. For

Essen ?

one thing, they are an epitome of all that is finest,

harmonically, in the work that preceded him, and the

melodies within the simple limits of the scale are

RECIPROCITY The Sultan's private orchestra wonderfully expressive. After all, the step from

IN KULTUR. has travelled to Berlin to give

Bach's:

some concerts in aid of military

charities. It has been trained by a Turkish musician

?4! J

who studied in Berlin, and is playing German music,

and also some Turkish national airs, arranged for

Ex. 62. , European orchestras by an Austrian who lives at

Constantinople. The expenses of the journey are

7 7 * F rI r-~ - ~- ,r-- - being defrayed by a wealthy resident of :~~~~ .--

I I ' I &r I I Constantinople.

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